Coexistence
by Merfire Vulpixia
Summary: "I wish humans were real." This was a dream of many Inklings and Octolings alike, to meet their predecessors. However, when the ancestors of the few humans who fled to space 12,000 years ago return, Agent 3 regrets ever making that wish.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Notes: Hey hey hey! This is my first fanfic on here! So here's a little background info about the story:**

**This story takes place roughly two years after the Octo Expansion, so Agent 3 is now 19 years old. **

**Mizuta Ahato is Dedf1sh's canon name.**

**In this story, Agent 3's name is Ado, and Agent 4's name is Susanna. I will be using their Agent names most of the time, but just in case I mention it and you're like "Who the peck is Ado?" Now you know!**

**This story is based off of a dream I had, in which Inklings and humans coexisted in the same world, and used each other's skills to survive. I thought it'd make a cool "human in Splatoon" story, but with some major differences. Like what if it was told in the POV of an Inkling? And what if there were many humans alive, instead of just one?**

**Anyway, that's it for now, I hope you enjoy the story!**

"Hey, can I have that back?" I asked, pointing to my Inkbrush that this kid snatched while I wasn't looking. I was on the train to Inkopolis Square for something far more important than a turf war, and was a bit on edge because of it.

"You Inklings are so obsessed with these things. I don't get it."

It was a human child. In the past few years, we discovered that humans hadn't gone extinct. While many did die that day of the Great Tidal Wave, a select few fled to space. And not too long ago, the ancestors of those few survivors returned.

"Well," I said in near fluent English, "Not only are they great for our sports, they're our main mode of defense. So I'd like to have it back please."

"Sounds like a waste of time. You could defend yourselves much better with some of our weapons." She commented, still inspecting the brush. I itched to threaten her with the Hero Shot and Dualies still in my bag, but reminded myself it wouldn't do anything. She had no idea what it was like to be so close to being splatted. Or sanitized, for that matter. I would imagine sanitization would affect humans, but no humans have ever been to Octo Valley, let alone the Deepsea Metro, since they can't travel by kettle or ink. Humans are so weird. Ink doesn't affect them, and they're also immune to water. They can't transform into anything, either. Quite frankly, they aggravated me. They came back and acted like they were so much better than us. We were forced to learn their language and put up translation signs everywhere. Sure, there were a few nice ones and though I hate to admit it, some of them were quite impressive and skilled, but the majority weren't.

The train was slowing and the station jingle of Calamari Inkantation began to play. At least most humans thought we had good music. The girl finally gave my Inkbrush back, and I pushed my way out of the train. Like most Inklings and Octolings, I made my way to the base of Deca Tower, but I took a sharp left turn to the kettle, and slid in without detection.

"Good morning, Agent 3!" Callie greeted me with her infamous energy and optimism. Marie appeared from the cabin moments later, much more serious about the situation, but she still greeted me with a smile and nod.

They led me inside and silently served me tea, as I slipped into my vest, ink tank, cape, and headphones. The cape was my own little addition to my uniform, and it was good for stealth as it covered my bright reflective vest and ink tank quite well.

Most of what the NSS dealt with nowadays was sanitized Octarian rescue and rehabilitation. Agent 8, obviously feeling a lot of compassion for the 10,007 test subjects before her, was usually the one to head the rescues. Agent 9, Mizuta Ahato, was good at the rehab part, being a recovered Octoling herself. With enough exposure to pure ink, therapy, and the heavenly melody, sanitization could be reversed.

Agent 4 arrived fashionably late as usual, and Marie began briefing us on the rescue mission. I eyed her suspiciously. She looked like she tried to sneak in a turf match just before coming here. Agent 4, who had gotten really good at reading my looks, leaned over and whispered, "Tower Control. I won." I stifled a giggle. Of course she did. Having Agent training gave us a certain kind of advantage in turf sports. Callie nudged me, and with a warm smile, redirected our attention back to Marie, who was calmly glaring at us like a teacher ready to scold naughty schoolchildren.

"As you know, Agent 8 hasn't returned from her last mission. You are to find her and attempt to help any other sanitized Octarians along the way. Oh yes, and we have a new Agent joining us today. He's already in the Deepsea Metro, so you'll meet him when you get down there."

A new Agent, and his first mission is in the Metro, and he went on ahead without us? That's rough. I hope he's not splatted by the time we get to him. Why would Marie send him there by himself? I suppose we'll find out soon enough. Marie always has good reasons behind her decisions. 4 and I jumped into the kettle leading to Central Station. We were using hot pink ink for this mission, as it was close to the natural ink color of 8 and most Octarians, and would help kickstart the purification process.

When we arrived, I spotted a figure standing over the remains of the shattered blender. I assumed he was our Agent 10. I couldn't tell if he was Inkling or Octoling from here, but he was certainly tall. About the height of Marina, maybe a little taller. He also looked to have black tentacles. So he must be an Octoling then, they're naturally taller and bigger than Inklings, and black is a common ink color among Elites.

"Agent 10?" I called out. When he turned to face me, I noticeably flinched.

He was human.


	2. Chapter 2

The human had shaggy black hair and ice blue eyes. He wore a hero suit looking much like 4's. He smiled and calmly waved at us. And then, in our Inkling language, even with a city accent, he spoke.

"You must be Agents 3 and 4. It's an honor to meet you."

I was at a complete loss for words. A million questions raced through my mind. I stepped back to radio Marie, and gave 4 a pleading look to go talk to him, which she obeyed. She knew I needed a moment.

"What the actual carp is a human doing here? This is the new Agent?" I was furious.

"Calm down 3, he's very skilled and capable, and he can't get splatted, so that's a plus."

"But a human? In the Metro? In the NSS? He still can get sanitized, can't he? And if he does, it'll be very hard to fight him off with ink, unless it's pressurized as much as a Stingray or Killer Wail. Forgive me Marie, but have you thought this through?"

"Yes, Ado. You trust me, and I trust him. Give him a chance."

Unable to find an argument, I regained my composure and approached him to introduce myself.

"I'm Agent 3." I said, trying not to show any emotion. He smiled again. I didn't like that he was taller than me. I'm not going to look up at him.

"So you're the one I've heard so much about! It truly is a pleasure!" Oh cod, how much did Callie and Marie tell him about me? You know what, I'm glad they told him about me. He should know not to mess with me. He should know that I can fight just as well without ink.

The human continued. "My name's Hunter, but I suppose we should be professional, so Agent 10 works too."

What was with this human? He was so happy, respectful, and nice. It made me sick how fake this guy was.

"If we're going to be professional, then I suggest we get started with the mission." I quipped, a part of me wondering what he was capable of, what his part in this was.

Agent 8's last confirmed location was Girl Power Station. The train soon arrived after calling it with my employee CQ, with which I also entered the desired location. 4 made small talk with the conductor and passengers, trying to find any information she could on 8. The human stared out the window like a little kid, fascinated with everything we passed. Yeah, this place is kind of like a weird vortex in an endless void, but you don't have to be that enthusiastic about it. I closed my eyes and attempted to entertain myself with my mind. And as much as I didn't want it to, that one memory pushed itself to the front, refusing to let me think of anything else. The day they came back.

* * *

DJ_Hyperfresh- hey, you might wanna come check this out. It doesn't look like it's from Octo Valley to me.

Attached to her message was a picture of some strange pod-shuttle thing. Normally this type of machinery would be Octarian, but if an Octoling Combat Engineer didn't recognize it, then it couldn't be. Maybe it was something from the Metro? I sent my reply.

AgentThree- I'm coming.

Agent 2- same. omw

MC Princess- yo, what the heck is this thing?

Attached was Pearl and Callie's selfie in front of it.

Agent 2- Callie, get away from that! We have no idea what it is! And how'd you get there so fast?

Agent 1- sorry, it's just so cool! And I was hanging with gramps, so we were pretty close to Nantai!

DJ_Hyperfresh- Captain Cuttlefish, Agent 8, do you recognize this? Did you see something like it in the Metro?

Agent_Eight- no

CraigCuttlefish- i can't say that i have. Almost looks like some predecessor thing.

A predecessor thing. I was suddenly filled with excitement to see if it really was something from the humans. We didn't know very much about them, and everyone, Inkling and Octoling alike, wanted to learn more. Little did I know, I would soon regret wanting any of that.

The NSS gathered about 50 feet away from the thing, and Marie tested her charger on it a few times to make sure it wasn't a bomb. Then, we approached, and surrounded the thing. It looked like an airplane with the wings ripped off. It had windows, but they were tinted. A loud crash of metal followed by Agent 8's even louder scream pulled me away from observing the thing's details. 8 is a quiet girl, so if she screamed, it had to be something very unsettling. Rushing to her side, I got a good look at what made her scream. My jaw dropped. On the other side of the door that 8 just kicked in were many frightened creatures. They looked a bit like us, same body shape and skin colors. Most of them were a little bit taller, and instead of tentacles they had what looked like kelp or grass or something.

Could it be? Were these... no, all the humans died. One of the creatures put up their hands and said something completely incomprehensible. My mind returned to entertaining the thought of these creatures being humans. As NSS Agents, we are required to know many languages. None of us knew this one.

We kept our weapons raised. The one that spoke began to move towards us. I shouted a warning in three different languages, but the creature, which looked to be male, kept approaching. Marie was the first to fire. Her bright green ink collided with him, and other than triggering a short yelp and causing him to double over a bit, it did next to nothing. A charger shot, which should have killed in one hit, only knocked him back a little bit, leaving the same impact as a punch to the stomach would.

Nobody moved for quite some time. He spoke again, and this time, Marina replied. Well, her laptop replied. The creature seemed to understand the monotone robotic voice coming from her laptop, and, looking enthralled, spoke more. I retreated to see what Marina was doing, and read her screen. She had a Octarian Military translation screen up, recording his words and translating them from... English to Octarian. Marina's hands flew over the keyboard, typing her responses and playing them in the foreign language. And their strange conversation proved my theory. My eyes the widest they've ever been, I read his words.

"Please, we come in peace! We are humans, we used to be the dominant life form on this planet around 12,000 years ago. Who are you?"

I was in too much shock to read Marina's response or the rest of the conversation. Millions of questions raced through my mind, the first being, "How did Marina recognize this... English?"

I asked her. Her eyes never leaving the screen, fingers never leaving the keyboard, she replied, "It was an old concept in the Octarian Military during the Great Turf War. To try and use predecessor languages as code. However, General Octavio was the only one to ever come close to fluent in English, the humans' primary language. So since there was no one else he could talk to with it, and many Inklings didn't know Octarian to begin with, it was abandoned."

It took a moment to register that Octavio apparently knew this human language. When it did, all I said was, "I'm going to go get him."

Then I left for his simple apartment in the city on the other side of the mountain.

* * *

Reluctantly, Octavio did help us as a translator. He, Marina, and a few human historians took charge of what became the HLP, Human Localization Project. Many Inklings and Octolings were very happy to welcome the humans into our society, like how we merged our cultures a couple years ago. However, things got tense fast.

The Inkling world has a very small, laid-back government, and the humans decided they wanted to challenge it. The humans thought they should be in control, and that this planet was rightfully theirs. They never fully overthrew our government, which mostly consists of peaceful Jellies, but it's been awkward ever since. I don't know if they understand our Splatfests, but I hope they can take a hint that our society chose chaos, and if you try to order us around when you've been gone for 12,000 years, chaos is what you will get. And yes, I chose order, but order isn't supposed to be like that. I chose order, not control.

"Arriving at Girl Power Station. Thank you for riding with the Deepsea Metro today."

The conductor's voice shook me out of my daydream threats. Apparently it also shook the human out of his daze as well. I stepped off the train, ignoring him and instead focusing all my energy on looking for signs of Agent 8.


	3. Chapter 3

Though Agent 8 was nowhere to be found, we managed to disarm and capture three sanitized Octolings. Two of them hissed and spat cusses in their language as we guided them back to the train, but the one Agent 10 was holding didn't make a sound. Even through the twisted forces controlling her mind, she could tell that he was very different. She was the biggest of the three, and an Elite at that, but the human was physically stronger. So that's one of his assets, but still, I don't understand his purpose of being here. We could've handled it.

When we arrived back at Central Station, Agent 4 led the Octolings through the kettle back to Cuttlefish Cabin, where they would be identified and begin the purification process. I was about to follow them, when I thought about the human. How was he going to get back? How did he even get here in the first place? I turned around to see him aiming a hook-shot at the hole I made in the ceiling two years ago. No... he was going through the NILS statue? But it's inner chambers had been crushed and ruined from Pearl's Killer Wail. And how did he even know how to navigate it?

Being the leader of this small splatoon, I'd be responsible if anything happened to the Agents. As much as I don't care whether or not this human lives, I am loyal to my duty and the NSS first. So after radioing 4 and letting her know I was taking a different route, I super jumped through the hole after him. I didn't want him to know I was following, so I'll be keeping a short distance behind him. This may also give me a chance to see what this human is really capable of.

* * *

If this place wasn't already creepy before, it sure is now. The Kamabo Co. test facility was completely ruined after Pearl's attack. Most of the lighting now comes from the glow of that disgusting sanitizer, and the lights that still work constantly flicker. Many areas are flooded with water, and there isn't a soul anywhere. Well, other than the human ahead of me, picking his way through the rubble with his hook-shot. So he's skilled with a hook-shot, so what? I am too, but our species don't need to use them since we can just super jump.

We came upon an extremely flooded area. The human dove right into the water and nonchalantly swam to the other side. Now I was a little nervous. Water steadily seeped through the walls, and there were no platforms from here to the other side. I'd have to super jump across. I've never super jumped that far without a launch pad, though. I stared at my reflection in the dark water, chills creeping up through my body. I have to try.

I slid into my squid form and focused all of my energy into jumping. Trying to remain as aerodynamic as possible, I soared into the air at an exhilarating speed. My trajectory was perfect. I'm going to make it- An unbearable pain filled my head. No, the ceiling. I just hit the ceiling. No, no, no. Back in humanoid form, I plunged into the water, screaming in pain. Water hurt far worse than enemy ink. I had a few seconds before the ink in my body completely diffused. This was it. This is how Agent 3 of the NSS goes out. I closed my eyes as death wrapped its arms around me and pulled me away. But after a few seconds, I opened them, suspicious as to why I wasn't dead yet. And I saw the human.

It was his arms that pulled me from the water. He pulled me to the safety of a rubble pile. I lied there on the pile of broken concrete and metal, desperate for the comfort of my own ink, which had reverted to my natural yellow in the panic. A human just saved my life. I shuddered, not knowing if it was from pain, fear, or disgust.

"Agent 3, please hang in there! Are you alright?"

He wasn't mad I was following him? Did he genuinely save my life because he actually cared, or just so he wouldn't be responsible? With a great deal of effort, I fired my Hero Shot below me, creating a puddle of ink just big enough for me to submerge. I stayed in until most of the pain was gone and my adrenaline calmed a bit, then resurfaced. He stared at me, concern covering his face. I still have to decide if it's genuine.

"I'm fine."

"Oh, thank the stars!" He exclaimed, the tension of the situation suddenly lifted. "Now, should we continue together?"

I nodded, deciding he was genuine after all. I'm not going to thank him though. I hated that I just showed weakness in front of a human. I hated that he now had something over me. He's probably going to use this against me someday.

* * *

We're nearing the top, at least from how I remember it. I was partially sanitized the last time I was here, so the memories are pretty hazy. I basically remember chasing Agent 8, with nothing on my mind but splatting her. Now I realize the irony of this situation. Here I am in the Kamabo Co. facility, following another Agent with nothing but hatred in my heart. Maybe... I should try to understand humans more. Like how I did with Octolings.

I used to be an Octarian splatting machine, but after my experiences in the Deepsea Metro, I gained a very high respect for them. And I felt absolutely terrible for them, the things I had done to them, and the fear I caused them. Even mindless sanitized Octolings still recognized me as the "Agent of death." I've seen a few break out of the "destroy all" mentality of sanitization and beg for mercy from me. That's how deep their fear of me was engraved into their minds.

I couldn't forgive myself for a while. Especially after fighting 8. I had tried to kill her. She assured me that it wasn't my fault and I was being controlled, so it wasn't really me, but it took a long time to accept my past actions. I'm not that Agent anymore. Or am I? I feel the same way now towards humans as I did to Octarians years ago. And I never really did forgive myself, did I? I haven't changed at all, have I?

"Hey, are you crying?"

"No! Mind your own business, human!" I snapped, only now realizing the clear ink flowing steadily from my eyes. No Ado, don't show more weakness. Stay stoic. Stay strong. I took a deep breath and wiped my tears on my sleeve, leaving my face once again still as stone.

We finally reached the elevator shaft. It was completely tilted and the elevator was stuck somewhere near the top, so it looks like we're climbing this thing. I inked one side of it and swam up, as the human slowly climbed the other side, occasionally using his hook-shot. When we reached the elevator platform, he asked if we could take a break. I was about to reply, but I was interrupted by the sound of an autobomb. What the carp? I didn't have any on me. Did the human? No, he couldn't use ink. Instinctively, I dove behind a container to shield the blast, then frantically looked for where it came from.

And almost as if we were in a parallel universe, I looked up. And saw her. Sanitized. Agent 8.

"Agent 8!" I called out to her, hoping to spark some memory, but from the looks of it, she'd been fully sanitized. She'd become the very thing she used to fight against, the very thing she escaped from.

I have to be dreaming. First a human joins the NSS, I almost die, then Agent 8 suffers the same fate as the 10,007 before her. But being within the radius of her splashdown quickly assured me that this was indeed real. I have to fight her the same way she fought me two years ago. You must be fierce so you don't get splatted, but also gentle so you don't splat the other. I have gotten used to this fighting style recently with all the Octarian rescues, but Agent 8 is the most skilled Octoling I know.

I yelled at the human, nodding to the twisted ladder, "Go on ahead! Get help! I'll handle Eight!"

* * *

I backed 8 into a corner. Fear kicked in soon after she realized this, and she dropped her Octoshot. Tears began to flow from her eyes as I continued to advance. That was what snapped me out of battle mode. More tears came as the pain of her wounds kicked in. A mix of neon yellow and sanitized ink flowed from her body. Then she collapsed from exhaustion, pain, and fear. I had been much too rough on her. One more drop of ink would've splatted her. I also dropped my Hero Shot, and rushed to her aid. Still partially sanitized, she tried to resist, but was too hurt to fight off my gentle grasp. I ripped off my cape and tied it tightly around her more vital wounds. Her breathing was urgent and uncertain, and it soon turned into coughing up sanitized bile. It dawned on me as I tried to soothe her by stroking her tentacles- she might not make it. I might loose her.

"Th- three," she whispered with a great deal of effort, "p-please hum me th-" Her words were cut off by more intense coughing, but I knew what she wanted.

As gently as I possibly could, I moved her head into my lap, and began to hum the Calamari Inkantation. By the second verse, I was singing it. I don't think my singing is very good, but for her, if it'll comfort her, I'll sing until I loose my voice. She closed her eyes and smiled. Her breathing was slowing and getting shakier with every inhale and exhale.

Please hurry, Agent 10. I shook my head. I should've known I couldn't trust a human.

"Agent 3!"

I looked up to see Agents 2, 4, and 10. Susanna was the first to make it to me. Even though 4 is my friend, she's pretty rough, and I felt the urge to protect 8 from her. I clutched her a little closer, when I realized something. She wasn't breathing anymore.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Notes: Hello! I'm sorry for not uploading in awhile, but I wanted to really make sure this next chapter was well written and edited. Thank you for all the support and constructive criticism so far, it has helped me improve as a writer, and I hope you enjoy this chapter! Stay fresh, everyone!**

* * *

We got Agent 8 to a hospital, which was risky because it could compromise information about the NSS and sanitization, but we had no other choice. Eight was in critical condition, and even with professional urgent care, she could still die. I sat in a pure white waiting room, applying bandages to my own cuts and bruises, cursing at myself for being this hard on Eight. There were a few older Inklings eyeing me in my Agent gear. I swallowed hard, avoided eye contact, and stared at the door, wondering if I should go home and change. And of course, Agent 10 appears in the one place I could look without looking at anyone.

"Hey, how's she doing?" He was speaking in English now. Good, he wouldn't raise much suspicion. He's the only human so far to learn our language.

"I don't know. She's in such critical condition, I'm not allowed to see her yet."

He sat in the chair next to me and whispered, "Oh, so... I'll let the team know."

We refer to the NSS as a turf war team in public when we have to talk about it. However, there were no turf war teams with humans on them. Slightly panicked, I sent a few quick glances arround the room, making sure no one heard Agent 10's mistake.

We sat in uncomfortable silence for about five minuets. My mind wandered to the three sanitized Octolings we found at Girl Power Station.

"How are the girls doing?" I muttered, hoping he would understand who I was talking about.

"They're good. I think they really like the new Squid Sisters song Miz' showed 'em."

Miz? That's a new one, but I respect that he's keeping Agent 9's identity secret. I… kind of like it.

An Octoling nurse came through a door. "Ado San?"

I shot up from my chair. Had I been in squid form, that would've been enough momentum to super jump. "Yes?!"

She smiled. Her smile was bright and kind. She must've never encountered me in Octo Valley. Any Octoling that saw me in my Agent gear, even ones I knew personally, would instinctively become defensive and alert. This nurse was either extremely stoic, exceptionally forgiving, or remarkably ignorant. "Your friend. She's going to be alright. She's still unconscious, but do you want to see her?"

Those words! They were almost sweeter than the heavenly melody. Had the human not been there, I might have started crying tears of joy. Instead, I simply nodded, and followed the nurse through the door.

* * *

8 didn't look too good. There were so many IVs and monitors keeping track of her vital signs… I had done this to her. Guilt fought for control of me. Ignore it, I thought, stay positive, stay strong.

She was really beat up, but I could tell the doctors did their best job. I decided to pick up where we left off. Pulling out my phone, I played her the original Calamari Inkantation. A tiny smile appeared on her face. Even though she was unconscious, she could hear it. The heavenly melody still touched her soul.

* * *

The next day, I visited our sanitization treatment center. It wasn't much, just a small yet secure building in the abandoned Cephalon HQ. Just as I fumbled my key into the doorknob, a high pitched shriek rang out. I burst through the door, and rushed to the source of the sound. It was Agent 9. She was cornered by the silent Elite.

Shouting, I broke her attention from Mizuta. As she turned to face me, I noticed that she'd gotten ahold of Mizuta's blaster. Her eyes were wide with fear and rage. I charged at her, kicked the blaster from her grasp, and tackled her to the floor. She squirmed and whimpered as I pinned her, marking the first time I've ever heard her voice. It was a soft, airy voice, not one you'd expect to come from a big, strong Elite. Still holding the Octoling, I scolded Mizuta.

"Agent 9, you know you're not supposed to start the purification process without another Agent around."

She snatched up her blaster, while nervously played with one of her light pink tentacles and adjusting her glasses. "Well, we can start now, right?"

I nodded. "Do you have her records?"

"Yes. Her name is Amber. She served under Octavio as an Elite for 9 years, before sanitization. She is currently 25 years old, her base ink color is red-violet, and she was one of Octavio's most obedient and physically inclined agents. Some of her Kamabo Co. records state that she was also one of the best test subjects."

She was a strong girl, and could probably fight her way out of my pin, but I think she's in too much shock to fight well right now. Mizuta fetched two syringes of red-violet ink. As soon as she saw them, she panicked, and began violently kicking and yelling "No, no please not again!"

I held her down with all my strength and determination, as Mizuta quickly and safely injected the pure ink. The poor thing, this must've been how she was sanitized. I can relate- I still get uncomfortable flashbacks to my sanitization whenever I see one of those antique telephones.

Those flashbacks were… awful. I wish there was a way to forget, not only for me but for the others who were sanitized, but I'm afraid those memories will always stay in our subconscious minds.

Amber calmed a bit after the pure ink took effect. We helped her to a bed, and stayed with her for a while, playing Maritime Memory. We stayed with her until she closed her eyes and smiled, her tentacle tips slowly reverting to red-violet. The real her was coming back.

Mizuta's eyes filled with an almost motherly compassion. Softly, she said, "I still remember my rescue and recovery. I remember you and Agent 8 finding me in that Kamabo Co. office. I was so scared that I would get splatted on the spot, but no. You gave me music and freedom, and a chance at life I always dreamed of, but never thought I'd get."

Miz' was tearing up. "Thank you, Three."

I didn't know how to respond. I mean, she's said things like that before, but never that deep. And never just to me. All I could find myself able to do was whisper a thank you back. Mizuta smiled warmly, lifting her glasses to wipe her eyes.

"You'll be okay, Three. You can forgive yourself, because I forgive you. And I know you'll do even greater things in the future."

* * *

I wandered around Cephalon HQ for a good while, pondering the things Mizuta said. I really have been lying to myself this whole time. Change is hard for me, so instead of dealing with it, I block it out. I focus so hard on being the legendary Agent 3 all the time.

Wait, was that... why Marie let a human join the NSS? She knows about my weaknesses, especially the ones I'm not even fully aware of. She's trying to help me conquer them. Marie always has good reasons behind her decisions. That sly girl. I smirked, thinking about it deeper.

Yes, it all makes sense now. While she couldn't have had all of yesterday's events planned, she knew that this change would be good for the NSS... and good for me. She knew I'd get stronger, maybe even forgive myself, and accept the future. After all, everyone that lives on this planet has to coexist, one way or another. Inkling, Octoling, human. We're really not all that different, are we.

The familiar static overdrive of a radio filled my headphones. I waited for a message from Agent 1 or 2, but no message came. That was strange. Concerned, I quickly analyzed my location. Some old speakers surrounded a makeshift platform built from cargo containers and other material. This was what Octarians would use as a stage, I've seen quite a few of these spread throughout the underground. However, this particular stage, was oddly familiar.

The Calamari Inkantation began to play as soon as I stepped onto it. Hearing footsteps behind me, I whipped around. It was Agent 8.

"Agent 8! You're- how?" then I realized, it wasn't really Agent 8. There's no way it could be. She gave me a challenging yet playful look, raising her Octoshot. I reached to my hips for my Hero Dualies, returning the look. Without a word, our battle began. Strangely, it lacked the feeling of a real fight. This battle... was fun. Hard, intense, but very fun. Much like a Splatfest match, I suppose, but it even feels different from that.

The base of the Calamari Inkantation shook the stage. I could feel the heavenly melody pulse through me every time I dipped into my ink. But the song wasn't playing for me. No, this was Agent 8's Inkantation. This was her freedom, her power, her determination. I was finally hearing what the song meant to her.

She fired a volley of shots, a few of them hitting me. Come on, Ado. I can't afford to be sloppy right now. After a dodge roll, I returned some shots and sent an Autobomb her way. She dodged everything with expertise and class. She was showing off. She knew I was capable of more. I know she is, too. Alright, I can play that way.

Reaching back, my hand tightened around a small, high tech device on my ink tank- and ripped it off. The limiter has been removed. A toothy smile crossed my face, and we locked eye contact. Eight's eyes shimmered with excitement. She was ready. I jumped up, right hand outstretched to the artificial sky, ink rapidly gathering at my fingertips. The Booyah Bomb, fully charged, came crashing down between us. When the ink cleared, I noticed a few smears of orange clashing with Eight's skin and blue tentacles. Not a direct hit, but I still got her. She began to fire back with all the precision of Agent 2's Hero Charger. Overwhelmed, I super-jumped into a Splashdown. A bit more orange covering that blue now. Yet despite that, Eight was still hiding very well. This is why I always carry Autobombs, I thought, sending them out all around. A small octo popped out of an even smaller puddle right next to me, laying down her own Splat Bomb. Clumsily diving out of its blast zone, I turned to see Eight in the air, hot on my trail with her special- Inkjet. Her shots whizzed past me, each one causing my hearts to skip a beat. The last shot hit my left arm. Hard. It knocked one dualie out of my grasp.

No. Eight landed, and kicked it off the platform. I sank into the orange ink, soothing my arm a bit. It wasn't long before she found me. Popping out, I squeezed my remaining dualie so hard that if it were living, I would've strangled it. Alone, it felt small and insignificant.

I tried to ignore that feeling and imagined it was my Hero Shot. Which was easier said than done. It just didn't pack the same power alone, and I was at quite a disadvantage now. This must've been how it felt for Eight the first time, fighting with that rusty old Octoshot.

Ink continued to fly back and forth, less from me. My specials were used out of panic and desperation. I couldn't keep this up much longer. At this rate, I'll be splatted in less than a minuet. Just as I was about to accept the loss, Eight ran out of ink. And she was standing in my orange, every bit of blue ink a few seconds away. I couldn't let her have those seconds. It's my time now. I charged, relentlessly firing a monsoon of ink her way.

I thought about Agent 8, and myself. I thought about our first battle, our latest, and the one I'm having in my mind right now. I thought about how we saved the world and changed society. I thought about forgiveness and moving on.

And then, I heard it. The sound of a splat.

Inner Agent 8 defeated.


	5. Chapter 5

"Agent 3?"

"Agent 3, are you awake?"

I opened my eyes slowly, the echoing voice becoming clear.

It was Agent 10.

"What are you doing sleeping out here?"

I tried to remember. Where am I? Cephalon HQ? What was I doing? Battling Agent 8?

Agent 8.

"Is Agent 8 okay?"

Hunter looked confused. "Yeah, she's fine. I assume she's sleeping at the hospital right now. Are you okay?"

"Yes. I feel really good, actually."

I felt free.

"We should get back to Inkopolis, 3. It's late." He offered his hand. I took it. Wow Ado, accepting help from a human? I laughed at myself silently. It's a fresh start, I suppose.

"You go ahead and take the kettle. Don't worry about me getting back, I'll be fine!" He remarked with a smile and wink. I actually returned the smile before sliding into squid form, slipping away through the grate of the kettle.

He was right, it was very late. Inkopolis Square had an eerily empty aura over it. Even the colorful lights didn't have the same cheer. I shivered, even though it wasn't cold.

* * *

That night, I had my recurring nightmare. As it usually went, I was locked in a small room with that telephone. I wasn't able to escape or fight back, and it would sanitize me. Then I would wake up. Every time. But this time, I didn't wake up. The nightmare continued.

The single locked door in the room opened. A human entered the room, letting the door slam shut behind him. He didn't acknowledge me at all, instead he stepped right up to the telephone. He spoke.

"The great professor's last creation. How very interesting. Thank you for sending your distress signal. Thank you for telling us that our dear dead planet was sustainable for us again."

He saluted. "Commander Tartar."

I made a move for the door, but was suddenly blocked by him. Finally getting a look at him, I realized with horror that his face was a familiar one.

"Agent 3," his cold gaze locked with mine, his words coming out dry and threatening, he addressed me. "The Commander's records state that you and Test Subject #10,008 got in the way of the superior life form's re-emergence on this planet."

He flashed an icy grin. "I hope you enjoyed the few years you delayed us."

I woke up. I was sweating, shaking.

"What the carp was that..." I said aloud.

I didn't want to go back to sleep. Not after that. That was terrifying. I got up and mindlessly turned on the TV. It was 4 am. No Inkling was ever up that early.

I couldn't stop thinking about the nightmare.

"It was just a bad dream." I told myself.

Was it though?

* * *

I had the day off. Still groggy from lack of sleep, I aimlessly wandered around the Square. After trying to distract myself with food, shopping, and a few rounds of Turf War, the nightmare was still on my mind. Ugh, just get out of my head! Maybe if I talk about it, it'll leave? But with who? There's really not a whole lot of people I trust. Susanna and Mizuta are at the sanitization treatment center, Callie and Marie are practicing with Pearl and Marina for their next tour, I'm definitely not talking to Agent 10 about it, especially since I saw that human in my dream...

Agent 8.

Was she awake yet?

After a brisk walk to the hospital, I stood in a puddle of nerves at the door. This would be so awkward. I had almost killed her. For the third time. I just can't face her so soon after that. What if she doesn't forgive me this time? What if I'm the last person she wants to see right now?

Deep breath Ado, deep breath.

I need to know if she's okay. I need to see her awake, and apologize.

I nearly stormed through the doors, causing many heads to turn my way. Cod, why do I always have to attract so much attention in this place? I could feel my hearts pumping, the ink swelling in my cheeks. I prayed that my blush wasn't noticeable.

"Um, hi, I'm here for a visit?"

The receptionist almost looked older than the Captain. "Name?"

"Ado San."

"Name of the patient?"

"Oh, um..." it occurred to me that I didn't know Agent 8's name. Nobody did, not even she could remember what it was. It was also unsure whether she even had a name, as we could never find her Octarian Military records. We always just called her "Eight."

So I said that. "Eight."

The receptionist raised an eyebrow at me. I was probably blushing so much now that my face was as bright as the sun. Thankfully, she didn't question it, and just typed it in.

"Room B35. Take the elevator to level 2, then take a right."

"Thank you." I replied, even though she probably couldn't hear me anymore, as I almost sprinted to the elevator.

* * *

Again, I stood outside her room as a complete nervous wreck. Why was this so hard?

I knocked before entering. A quiet, weak, yet sweet voice answered, "Come in!"

So she was awake. That calmed me enough to step inside.

"Agent 3! It's you! You're okay, right?"

This girl was immobile in a hospital bed, and she was asking if I was okay. I don't deserve her. I'm too ashamed to look her in the eye right now, so I stared way too hard out her window. She had a beautiful view of Inkopolis Tower. My hearts were heavy as I responded.

"Yeah. I'm… fine. I'm… I'm so sorry, Eight." This was the hardest it's ever been to keep tears in.

"Three, you did what you had to. I'll be okay, I've been through worse and gotten through it. And, you did save me again. So... thank you, Three."

Finally, I gathered enough courage to look at her. She was smiling that pure, perfect smile. How could she be so strong?

I wonder how much of our fight she remembered. I wonder how much she remembers, in general. Was her sanitization like mine? Could she see what she was doing but not control it?

"Hey, you don't have to answer this if you don't want to, but, do you remember anything from your sanitization?"

Her eyes widened, her smiled disappeared. She clenched her fists.

"Yes. I remember everything. Vividly."

She coughed and giggled nervously. "It's funny, I still can't remember my own name, but I can remember everything that happened while I was supposed to be completely mindless."

I glanced at the monitors. Her heartbeat and breathing rates had just increased. Anxiety.

"We don't have to talk about it now if you're not comfortable yet."

"No, no, it's fine, I really should just get it out, and I have to anyway for the NSS." Her voice shook as she spoke, she almost seemed to choke on her words.

"I was trying to rescue a sanitized Elite at Girl Power Station. She bested me in battle, and took me to a part of the Metro I'd never seen before. It was the new Kamabo Co. HQ, apparently. I had no idea that... that THING survived... it was there, in its own little room, giving orders, continuing its horrid work..."

She trailed off. It really hurt her, thinking about this. I interrupted her frantic fidgeting with the sheets by offering to hold hands. Like a lost, frightened child, she clutched my hand with a grip that was almost painful. It seemed to calm her enough to continue.

"The telephone had a new assistant. A human. That, that human, I recognized him. He shot me with some kind of tranquilizer, and I blacked out. I awoke in a hospital room."

She paused, and whispered, "That's why I was so happy to see you, Three. You were the confirmation I needed to be sure I wasn't being sanitized again."

A couple tears came to my eyes. I gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

"Being sanitized, it was the strangest feeling. It felt cold, numb, a little painful, and absolutely terrifying. I think it was more frightening knowing what was going to happen to me, waiting for my fate, watching my skin and tentacles change. I couldn't move, I couldn't scream, all I could do was watch. Eventually the sanitization fought for my brain, and won for the most part. I think my lack of hypnoshades is what saved me from being fully controlled."

Eight winced. It was almost as if there was something she wanted to mention, but couldn't.

"From then on, I couldn't feel anything. Not thoughts, not emotions, not even physical pain. All I could do was watch. I watched the human give me orders to patrol the NILS Statue. I watched my body step on and off the train. I watched myself take restless surveillance of a completely devastated area. I watched a new human crawl through the ruins... followed by an Inkling Agent of the NSS. I'm... I'm so sorry, Three. I knew it was you, but I couldn't do anything while under the sanitization's influence. I hate to say this, but fighting you, it almost felt right, like something primal was activated. I tried to keep telling myself it was wrong, I tried to hold on to who you really were... but I was too weak. I'm sorry."

"It's okay, Eight. I completely understand."

It was true.

We both knew now, what it was like to fight a friend that wasn't all there.

I wanted to hug her, but I'm unsure if she's healthy enough to even do that. I didn't have to be insecure for long, as she somehow pulled me into a soft embrace. I felt her shivering, I heard a few choked sobs. I'm going to make the human that put her through this regret being born.

A human. My nightmare flooded back to me.

"I'm going to be honest, Eight, I came here for two reasons. The first was to see if you were okay and apologize. The second was to get something off my chest as well."

She sat up the best she could, implying she was interested, ready to listen. I've said it before and I'll say it again. I don't deserve this sweet angel.

"I haven't told anyone about this, but for the past two years I've been having a recurring nightmare. I'm locked in a small room with the deranged telephone, I can't escape, and then I'm sanitized. That's it, I always wake up after that. But last night, I didn't wake up right away. A human came into the room. A human I recognized. He said that he received a distress signal from Tartar, and it was time to complete the superior life form's re-emergence on this planet."

I left it at that. Eight nodded. Slowly, she asked, "What did the human look like?"

"He was an older adult male, gray hair, dark, almost black eyes, ghostly pale skin, everything about him just felt cold, lifeless, unsettling. Almost like he was the prime example for sanitization."

Without a hint of doubt in her voice, she gulped, "That's him. That's definitely him. But why did we both recognize him? I know we've seen a lot of humans recently, but why did he stick out in our subconscious minds?"

I pondered this myself. I tried sifting through all the human faces in my memory. Three of them stuck out. Agent 10, the little girl on the train to Inkopolis Square, and the first human we ever communicated with. The tall male, in charge of that small patrol ship of the first humans back on earth. Him.

Dismayed, we uttered his name at the same time.

"Lieutenant Mason G. Wellington."


	6. Chapter 6

"You want me to do what?!"

"Please Ado? You're the best candidate." Marie beckoned.

She's right. Besides Eight, I have the most experience with sanitization. But still, it's just so dangerous, and... uncomfortable. And what if it doesn't work? And heading into this kind of mission almost immediately after learning about the new Kamabo Co? That's a little too rash.

If I do this, we can finally put an end to sanitization. An end to the pain and trauma.

I closed my eyes, slowed my breathing, and focused on changing my ink color to an unnatural electric blue.

"Oh, thank you Three! But a little darker, remember, you're mimicking a full sanitization."

Sighing, I obeyed. "Hand over that makeup." I rubbed the dumb light green face paint all over my skin. This better work.

"Here. They don't work anymore, I promise!" Callie handed me her old hypnoshades. They did look kind of broken. It seemed like the wiring had been ripped out, and a pulsing pink light no longer ran through them. Still, I couldn't help getting nervous as I slid them on. These ones in particular were made to inflict a stronger hypnotization. If they suddenly started working again... no, I don't want to think about that. Let's just get this over with.

"You look good, Three," Agent 10 remarked, "just like the real thing."

"Thanks..." I was more thankful that no one could see my blush through this face paint.

I checked my reflection on my phone. He was right. It did look pretty realistic.

Suddenly, a pounding headache filled my head, causing me to nearly black out. Horrified, I forced myself to stay awake. I saw the shattered blender. The telephone. Disgusting blue-green slime was oozing out of every crack I'd just put in that thing. And some of it just latched onto my face. Desperately, I tried to claw it off. It stung like a thousand needles as it crept into my eye. I screamed, but my voice didn't make a sound. As the sludge clouded my mind, I focused on holding on to my last few thoughts, my slivers of free will...

"Three! You ready to go?"

"Uh," I glanced at my hands. They were shaking uncontrollably. I shoved them in my pockets. "Yeah, I'm ready."

I'm not. I'm scared. Terrified, really.

Eight stopped me that day. Eight was the only one who could've stopped me that day. If this mission went wrong, if that awful thing happens to me again... Eight won't be able to stop me today.

Deep breath, Ado. One, two, three, exhale...

* * *

After a bit of "convincing" the conductor took us to the new Kamabo Co. Headquarters. The only way in and out is the train, there's no station, and the tracks just stop, right there. This area of the Metro must have been maintenance or something, a long time ago. So we won't be able to make the stealth approach we wanted. That means Plan B is in effect immediately, which was only supposed to be used if we got caught. Agent 10 will find Lieutenant Mason, distract and collect information from him, by pretending to be supportive of that superior life form carp. I will slip into line with the sanitized Octolings, and also find out as much as I can about the facility, defenses, plans, everything. Marie's orders were that this would be an espionage mission only, but if I find any chance to weaken this sadistic place from the inside, I don't care about the consequences, I'm taking it.

"Arriving at Kamabo Co. Headquarters. Thank you for riding with the Deepsea Metro today."

Here we go.

The train doors slid open to a poorly lit warehouse. At the far end, a staircase led to a rather sturdy looking door, and the walls were lined with tunnels. Several empty railcars pushed to the walls acted as shelters and storage. But the most unnerving thing was the sanitized, not only Octolings, but several Inklings too, they were absolutely everywhere. There had to be at least 80 different splatoons, almost 650 Inklings and Octolings training, marching, standing on guard. It was disgusting.

Why were there so many? More importantly, how?

I glanced at Agent 10 just before joining the march of the nearest splatoon. He looked deeply disturbed. I can't imagine the situation he's in right now. He has to act supportive of this nightmare. I hope he can handle it. He needs to.

We've both realized that ours aren't the only lives at risk here. If this already massive mindless army keeps growing at this rate, then...

There he is. At the base of the stairs. Watching it all. Lieutenant Mason. He doesn't even deserve to be called that. He was as pale as a corpse, it looked as if he'd been down here since the day the humans came back. I tried not to react as he briskly walked past me, straight to Agent 10.

"You there. Who are you?" despite his voice not being too loud, it still managed to echo and bounce around the warehouse, which was unsettling. I know it's in my head, but it felt like he was everywhere.

Agent 10 kept his cool. "My name is Hunter, sir. Lieutenant, I think what your doing here is wonderful, making those inferior cephalopods work for us. Soon we'll have all of them under control, and things can be like they were 20,000 years ago. I'd like to learn more about operations here, and join your cause."

It was a wonderful performance! However...

He didn't buy it. He didn't buy it for a second. A snap of his fingers and Hunter was seized by four sanitized Octolings.

No. No no no. Please no.

The Lieutenant hissed, "Nobody knows this place even exists. Nobody, except the recently escaped Test Subject #10,008. There is no way you could navigate the underground and just waltz into here without being informed. I bet you're a little spy, aren't you? The perfect cover for those slimy New Squidbeak Splatoon Agents, a teenage boy wanting to help me. They're going to have to think of something more clever than that."

He flashed that awful icy grin.

"You know, it isn't just the cephalopods I intend on controlling. Recently we've been testing sanitizer that works better on humans. People like you, that have seen too much, that know too much, that support a coexistence between our races. So I suppose you can help my cause after all. Welcome to the team, Human Test Subject #2."

Agent 10 remained speechless. What could he say? The Octolings dragged him down a dark corridor. It pained me that I couldn't follow him right now. It would blow my cover, someone sanitized stepping out of line with no orders to. Yet even though no one knows I'm here yet, seemingly not even Lieutenant Mason, I still feel exposed. Like I, specifically, am being watched.

I took mental note of the hallway Hunter was taken down. His fate, probably, was to be tortured for information on the NSS, and then he would be sanitized. I definitely need to reach him before that second part happens, or I… the NSS, might lose him for good. I don't think I could take on a sanitized human alone. For now I just have to lay low. Like a true sanitized victim, I can only observe.

* * *

After about an hour of waiting for a chance to find Hunter, my opportunity finally came. The splatoon I joined was about to march by an office, just to the right of the tunnel he'd been taken down. Facilities like this often have multiple ways in and out of rooms. It didn't necessarily have to be some secret passage, but any pipe or vent I could squeeze into would work. At the door, I quickly laid down a thin trail of ink from my custom Octoshot, and slid right in.

The office was crammed full of large file cabinets. Perfect, I could do a little information digging before I find Hunter. After all, that's what I came here to do. Heh. I sound cruel, don't I? Making Agent 10 wait, making him go through torture… it's worth it. I need to learn something other than the march patterns of the sanitized. And he needs to prove his worth as an Agent, he needs to be able to withstand a little pain. If he's smart, he'll turn around the questions, and find out something valuable too.

The cabinets were labeled with numbers going up in intervals of 100. Curiosity pulled me to the one labeled "10,001-10,100" and instinctively my fingers paged through to 10,008. My hunch was right. These were the test subject records, and this was Agent 8's.

* * *

Kamabo Co. Test Subject #10,008

Name: ?

Age, as of registration: 16

Age, as of sanitization: 18

Species: Octoling

Gender: Female

Primary Ink Color: Hot Pink

Eye Color: Teal

Skin Color: Bronze

Assets: young, strong, skilled, fast, hard worker, smart yet naive. No name, no background, no memories. A perfect nobody.

Notes: Test Subject #10,008 would have been one of Kamabo Co.'s best. She passed every test and collected all four thangs within a few weeks of her entering the program. However, because of interference from Subject #10,009, AKA Agent 3 of the New Squidbeak Splatoon, #10,008 was the first test subject to ever escape sanitization and/or death, as well as make it to the surface world. With the assistance of a few other surface dwellers, she also dismantled the NILS Statue and Kamabo Co. Testing Facility. Since then, #10,008 has worked with the NSS as Agent 8, participating in "rescues" of other test subjects.

Update: Recently, Test Subject #10,580 managed to recapture #10,008 at Girl Power Station. A full sanitization was induced upon her. However, both of those test subjects were lost to the NSS one mere week later. Those NSS Agents have always been quite the pests. If we ever get our hands on one again, they are not to be sanitized, but executed immediately.

* * *

I held my breath as I read those last words in her file. Panic kicked in and I carried out a full perimeter check of the small office. After that, I snatched two more files, 10,009 and 10,580. They'd have to be read later, if I get out of here alive. I have to find Hunter. Right away. If they find out he's an Agent… he'll be killed. I've always viewed sanitization as a fate worse than death, but you can recover from a sanitization. You can have another chance at life. If we want to live, we have to get out. Now.

I kicked open the nearest vent, which screeched and rattled horribly. As I was about to crawl in, a chilling thought struck me. What if… this was a trap? What if Hunter... works for them? Could he have just lead me to them? My first impression of him was that he was disgustingly fake. What if my intuition was right?

As I pondered it more, it frightened me how much the pieces fit together. The whole New Squidbeak Splatoon thought he was an amazing actor, that's why he was chosen to confront the Lieutenant. But Mason didn't seem to believe him for a second. How else would he have known so quickly? That was a hard story to see through, unless you were a part of it. We were right, Hunter is a good actor. Too good. He must have played us… he…

I wanted to be able to trust him.

My breathing was uneasy. No, it was out of control. I noticed panicked pulses of color vibrating through my tentacles. Breathe, Ado, please breathe. Thinking about it only seemed to make it harder.

My ears rang. My vision blurred. My whole body shook uncontrollably. I felt cold and hot at the same time. I wanted to throw up. I'm not sure of anything anymore. I can't trust anyone here. I don't feel safe. I can't breathe...

It's not real, he wouldn't betray me, he saved my life, he could have let me die there in the water. The more I tried to reassure myself, the more unsure I became.

It's not real, it's not real, it's not real. I'm having a panic attack, that's all. I'm just scared. None of this is real, it's all in my head. Breathe. Focus. I'll find Hunter, we'll make it out, we'll be fine. Just fine.

I imagined Inkopolis. The city I grew up in, where I learned to play turf war. Where all my friends could live happily, safe, and free. The city I vowed to protect. I closed my eyes, and for a fleeting moment, it felt as if I was there. Home.

It helped, but I was still afraid. And as much as I want to go home, there's still something I have to do here. Friend or foe, Hunter saved my life. It's time I return the action.

After all, Inkopolis is his home too.

I fired a highly pressurized burst of ink down the ventilation system, which probably still had dust from 12,000 years ago lingering in it. The fresh ink dripped down the sides, taking dust with it, leaving the sheet metal relatively clean. I caught my reflection just before dipping into the ink. The girl that looked back at me wasn't Agent 3. It was a nervous girl, at about the age of ten. A young girl who was scared of the dark, of the water, of the unknown. Adeleine "Ado" San. She looked at me with fear on her face, but determination in her eyes. Then she disappeared, and was replaced by my physical reflection.

My makeup was smudged, and the tips of my tentacles had begun reverting to my natural yellow, from anxiety. Rendering my disguise useless, I, with slight relief, slipped off the hypnoshades. I had one shot to get Hunter and get out of here. Make it count, Ado.


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: Hello! Thank you for your patience on this chapter. Just a quick warning, this chapter gets a little dark. Nothing graphic or bad, just kinda creepy. Hopefully I'll have Chapter 8 out soon, I'm already halfway done with it! So, enjoy, and until next time, stay fresh!**

* * *

I found him.

...It was my first time seeing a human bleed.

Hunter sat alone in a dark room. I observed his wounds from the vent directly above him. He was tied to a rusty chair with those ropes that give you splinters every time you try to move. The blood around his wrists was enough evidence that he'd been struggling for a while. His jet black hair was wet and matted, it hung unevenly over his badly bruised face.

Cod, what have they done to him?

Just as I was to drop out of the vent above him, the door swung open. The Lieutenant stormed in, kicking over his chair. Hunter didn't make a sound.

"So, you refuse to speak? Even after all this? You think you're saving everyone by holding your tongue. Well, you're not. We know she's here."

Hunter stirred a little. Mason smirked.

"Yes, it is who you're thinking. If you give us what we've asked, then we might let her get out of here alive."

Now, I was the one smirking. They'd have to find me first. And that won't happen. We're both getting out of here alive. But then my hearts sank. He was about to speak. To save me.

"I… th-the n…" he started.

Oh no you don't. I'm going to be the one doing the saving today. I aligned my Octoshot just above the vent, and barely tapped the trigger. A single drop of yellow ink fell through, right onto his nose. It caused him to flinch, but then he realized the message I was sending him. I was safe, and he was about to be.

He turned to the ceiling with the most relieved smile I've ever seen. His blackened eyes closed, his lips mouthed a thank you.

"I'm not telling you anything."

Mason's face fell. He kicked him in the stomach and pulled him up roughly. "If you won't speak," he spat, "then how about you be her executioner?"

The Lieutenant, fuming, grabbed the back of his chair and drug him out of the room.

The door slammed shut. I dropped in, ready to follow, ready to save.

* * *

I couldn't see them anymore, but I knew exactly where they were by the chair's screeching. These hallways were particularly dark. Almost like Mason himself didn't want to see the test subjects lurking here. I laid my ink everywhere, floors, ceilings, and walls, to slow any potential attackers. I don't care about stealth anymore. They know I'm here. Why not make a big impression?

However, as I continued to follow them, I noticed that no one was following me. And that quickly became concerning. If they know I'm here, why don't they attack? What's going on?

I was about to find out.

Turning the final twist in the long corridor, a heavy door slammed right in my face. This must be it.

"Why don't you join us, Agent 3? Come in." A cold voice cracked through a loudspeaker.

I froze. Everything in me screamed that this was a trap.

"Either you come in," his voice taunted, "or my entire army will be waiting to splat you on your way out."

Honestly, my chances might be better in this trap. And… Hunter needs me. Right now. I reached for the handle, and pulled the massive door open. There was no light inside. No one attacked. Yet.

"So nice of you to join us, Agent 3. We were just about to test the effectiveness of our new sanitizer. I'm sure you'll be interested in the results."

A fluorescent light clicked on. The room was relatively empty, minus the hospital equipment and broken Octarian Military weapons. A desk, a deactivated Flooder in the corner, several Octocopter helmets, and two beds pushed against the walls. And… an antique telephone. It didn't seem to be Tartar, though, unless he got a paint job. I forced myself to look away from it.

One of the beds was occupied. Mason had knocked Hunter unconscious and dumped him in the other. A sanitized Octoling nurse began hooking him up to IVs. Impulsively, I charged at her, screaming.

Mason grabbed me like I was a child and placed me in a tight headlock. He pried the Octoshot out of my hands and tossed it aside. I punched, I kicked, I bit, but he held on.

A needle pierced me just above my ankle, coming from the Lieutenant's small dart gun. It paralyzed my whole left leg. The skin around the pinprick turned blue-green almost immediately. No.

"No!" I cried. He dropped me to the ground. I flung off my ink tank, tore off the straps, and set to work tying them around my leg as fast as I could.

Mason made no move to stop me. He only remarked, "That won't help you."

I tried not to believe him, but I couldn't fully block circulation. I felt it seeping up my leg, mixing with my ink. It was cold, so cold. I began preparing my mind to fight off the sanitization.

"As you can tell, it's much stronger now. With this new formula, we can even sanitize humans." The Lieutenant gestured to the beds. I struggled to sit up and see who occupied the first bed. It was a human child. A little girl. I gasped aloud.

The girl from the train.

"Oh you know her? My daughter?"

Daughter? Or experiment?

"Funny, she came home the other day talking about an Inkling she met on the train. The Inkling girl was quite rude to her, apparently. She was carrying a lot of advanced weapons. Too advanced for your sports."

I shivered. Was it cold in here? I don't know. My senses are beginning to fade.

Mason continued. He made subtle hand gestures, sometimes he would over articulate specific words. All in an attempt to intimidate me. Unfortunately, it was working. I couldn't tell if sanitiztion or fear paralyzed me more.

"I didn't know who exactly it was then, but I knew it was one of you idiots. I also knew it was time to carry out the first human experiment. We would need it, if you were coming. And, with a personal grudge against you still in her subconscious mind, why wouldn't I give her the honor to be the first? The first in a revolution, the first truly ideal lifeform, the first to destroy legendary Agent 3…"

He uttered the unfortunate child's name. "Maia."

Maia sat up suddenly, responding to her name. Her skin pale, her eyes dark with only electric blue irises, she looked completely mindless.

He actually did this to his own daughter? He took away her childhood, her memories, her emotions, everything? He destroyed her will so he could have a husk for this unethical science? His own daughter.

For the first time, I felt true remorse for a human. She may not have been the most respectful child, but she didn't deserve this. No one did. I wouldn't even wish this fate on Mason, despite him very much deserving it.

"You're sick." I spat.

He chuckled. "No. You and your people are sick. And I have the cure."

I glanced back at Hunter. He had just come to. And he was terrified.

Was this the end?

No.

It couldn't be. I made a promise to get us both out of here alive. A promise to Hunter, to Marie, to Eight, to myself, and to all of Inkopolis. I'm not about to let my whole world down.

Stand, Ado. Stand up and fight.

I closed my eyes. My legs quaked, my muscles contracted, I wanted to scream, and yet I stood. "We're going home," I stated, "and not you nor anyone here can stop us."

"I thought you'd be smarter than that, Agent 3. I'm going to enjoy watching your demise so much more now." Mason snapped his fingers. Maia jumped to action, and took a battle stance.

The phone suddenly rang. I flinched. That awful, awful sound.

The Lieutenant answered it. I couldn't hear what was said, but I noticed that he held his breath.

The phone call ended. "Such a shame." he finally breathed. "You'll have to excuse me, but I have far more important things to attend to. Farwell, you two."

And without another word, he left. His sudden urgency perked my interests, but I didn't have time to think about that now.

I turned to Maia. Adrenaline pumped through me. "I'm so sorry." I whispered before delivering a perfect blow to her jaw. An instant knockout. I have a few minutes at best before she awakens again.

Limping, I struggled over to Hunter. "This might hurt, but we have no time."

He understood. I ripped out the IVs. He winced, but still didn't scream. There was an almost dead look in his eyes. The sanitizations weren't complete on either of us, but the effects were evident.

"You're doing so good," I encouraged, "we're going home now. We'll be okay."

Understanding, he nodded.

I could hear backups gathering outside the door. This was going to be tough.

"Hey." A quiet voice called. It took me a frightful moment to realize it came from my headphones. A transmission? But transmissions this deep in the underground were quite difficult, unless they were close. However, this voice wasn't anyone from the NSS. It was soft, airy, shy. The voice continued with instructions.

"There's a Flooder in there, right? You need to activate it. Set its course for the main forum, then bolt to the train."

I decided to take the voice's advice. The Flooder would only need a sample of my ink, and a path to follow. I silently thanked Marina for designing these things before snatching my Octoshot from the dirty floor. Using the last of my ink, I successfully awoke the mechanical beast. For once, it felt good to be caught in its shower. But it was time to go.

The Flooder crashed through the door to greet the unexpecting soldiers on the other side. Grasping Hunter's hand tight, I led him in the Flooder's path. I can't be sure, but I thought I heard him humming the Calamari Inkantation. Maybe the heavenly melody's power even reaches human souls.

Home. We were going home.

We emerged from the twisting halls into the great warehouse. I could see the train. It was ready to leave.

Despite our injuries, I don't think either of us had ever run so fast before.

I could feel my conscience slipping, but I didn't allow it until the doors were closed behind us. The train lurched, and began on its way. "Central Station, now." I wheezed. I felt myself begin to fall. Someone caught me.

A tall, strong Octoling with red-violet tentacles held me close. "E-eh… Eight?" my voice stammered.

"Amber." She answered quietly. "My name is Amber."

"You're safe now."


	8. Chapter 8

I never expected to be one recovering in our sanitization treatment center. It felt nice, though. To be taken care of.

"Amazing." Mizuta remarked. "You were able to fight it off by sheer power of will. And even with its new strength. Just amazing."

Hmph. She must be joking. I didn't do anything amazing.

"Miz, stop it. I put Agent 10 and the NSS in danger, and I was only able to bring back a few files. Technically, I failed the mission."

She shook her head. "No! Stop being so hard on yourself, Three! You rescued Agent 10, and brought back this, too." she exclaimed, holding up a small vial of that thick blue-green liquid. She must have extracted that while I was asleep. "You found out what we're up against. That's very important."

Okay, but still...

Mizuta continued with the medical talk. "We were able to filter this stuff out of your ink. We got it out of Hunter, too, but his samples weren't as pure, it was oddly much harder to separate from human blood. The sanitizer is much stronger than before, but even a fully infected victim should be able to recover. It will just take much more time, and…"

She adjusted her glasses. I've noticed that she does that whenever she's nervous.

"And?" I inquired.

"Well, it's much stronger."

"You said that."

She suddenly looked like she was about to cry. "I said recover, not… full recovery."

She sniffed and tried to smile. "But, don't all sanitizations have lasting effects? We can work around those, even if-"

"Agent 9, tell me the truth."

Her tears spilled out, but she managed to maintain a level voice. "Three, this stuff is unlike anything I've ever seen. It changes, evolves, it hides itself in its host by transforming, and convincing the body that it's just like every other bodily fluid. We couldn't even find it in you at first, though the symptoms of sanitization were clear, it looked and behaved just like your normal ink."

I began to feel increasingly uncomfortable. Did she really get it all out, then?

"What else is different?"

"It causes the body's systems to start attacking themselves, and pretty soon the sanitizer is the only thing the body will accept. It also appears to have a hivemind effect, somehow it connects the brain wavelengths of victims. This new stuff doesn't just control the victim, it completely changes the victim. It's almost sentient by itself."

I was taking this almost death-sentence much better than I expected. "So what's going to happen to us?"

"Both you and Hunter had very low doses, and we were able to get most of it out, so your lasting effects should be more mild, unless it finds a way to evolve again. As for other victims, I'm not sure yet, but from what I've seen this stuff do in a few hours, it appears that purification may have to be carried out via lesser sanitizations. If these new sanitizations are treated the same way as the old ones, the body might have a much harsher delayed reaction."

I almost choked. "Eight!" I struggled to get up. Mizuta pushed me down.

"You'll hurt yourself! Please calm down!" She cried.

Marie burst into the room. "Agent 3, stop!"

"Marie! Is Eight okay?"

Marie sighed softly. The room was suddenly still. I held my breath.

"Agent 8 is fine for now. She's in professional medical care, and she's getting better treatment than we could offer here. Most likely, she'll turn out fine, just like you. However, that unfortunately brought up something else. The government knows more than we hoped now. And, they aren't happy with us. They're taking over this facility as well as further investigation of the new Kamabo Co. I'm sorry, Three, but until I can convince them that our work is for the safety of Inkopolis, they have ordered me to keep all Agents suspended and out of the field."

That hit me like a ton of bricks. No field work? We can't do anything?

"I understand, but Marie, if the Lieutenant continues his work for even a week more, Inkopolis will be destroyed. I saw the size of that army, and it's a miracle we even escaped-"

"That's another thing, how did you escape?" She interrupted, which mildly annoyed me. "Agent 10 said he saw an Octoling helping you. Eight and Mizuta are our only Octoling Agents, and they weren't anywhere near there yesterday, so what gives?"

I suppose the subject is changed. Now, I'm confused too. "You mean, you didn't send Amber to help?"

"Amber was a patient here." Mizuta piped in. "She recently recovered and moved to the surface."

"The hivemind effect." I breathed.

"Excuse me?"

"Amber knew we needed help because we had similar amounts of sanitizer in us. It connected us."

Marie was skeptical. "Or she was being called back. We need to resume her treatment-"

She stopped, looking pained. "We can't. You and Hunter are the last we're allowed to treat here. As soon as you've recovered enough to move, we have to give up this building."

I've never felt so helpless, but I can't imagine how Marie must feel. I often forget what it really takes to keep the NSS running. We don't just fight to protect, we fight to survive. We all have to be strong, in our own way.

BOOM!

It shook the building.

"Earthquake?" I hoped.

BOOM!

There it was again. This time, I heard the unmistakable sound of an inksplosion.

Marie looked at me. I could see it in her eyes, her inner calm had been deeply shaken. "Three, this isn't fair of me to ask, but I need you to get up. I need you to fight one last time."

It was only then that I realized how exhausted my body really was. Everything was sore. My head spun as I sat up, nearly causing me to black out again. Not now, please.

I imagined Inkopolis. More importantly, the sunlight. I have to get back there.

Once again, I stood. Despite everything. I have to get home. We'll truly be safe then.

In the time it had taken me to stand, Mizuta had retrieved weapons for us. Her own Clash Blaster, an E-Liter for Marie, and a Cherry H-3 Nozzlenose for me. Alright, not my main, but I can work with it.

Hunter entered just after her, looking way worse than I remember. His icy blue eyes begged for sleep. Not only that, he had a Hero Inkbrush. And he was wearing an ink tank. So he's fighting now too? He better use that carefully. Once he's out, he can't refill.

BOOM!

One last time.

I could hear them down the hall. Four or five, a small splatoon, their mechanical voices cackled and shrieked.

I nodded to my team. It's sad, it's not their fault, but I'm going to enjoy this last kill so much.

How I yearned for a Splatling right now! Mizuta led our charge down the narrow hallway. I was right behind her, Marie next, Hunter last. There were five of them. Soon, there were none. We kept moving, past the now blue-green stained walls. There were probably more coming.

I licked my lips. I had only splatted one of them, but it was a clean kill… What am I thinking? These were once innocent people, and I was enjoying this way too much. Why? Was this what Miz' meant by "after effects?" I must still have some of that stuff inside me, and it's still fighting for my mind. I can't let it win. Not now.

Outside, it looked as though Hyperbomb replicas had been used. Ink was absolutely everywhere. It nearly covered the building completely. All this for a splatoon of five? That couldn't be right.

It wasn't.

The red lights of about 40 hypnoshades lit up simultaneously. They were ready for us. And they weren't just making a big impression. They wanted us dead.

Marie quietly barked an order. "Three, get to the kettle. Nine, provide a distraction. Ten, stay behind me."

It's okay Three, we'll make it back. All of us. Go.

I heard Hunter's voice, even though he never opened his mouth. Hivemind. I didn't like this. Not one bit. He could probably hear my thoughts too. I'm sick of other things being inside my head.

"One more thing, Three. When you get back, destroy that kettle. We're shutting down Cephalon HQ for good. Now get out of here."

But what if you can't get back? I didn't have time to argue, not that Marie would've let me. Everyone else had already jumped to action. And so once again I ran for safety. I blasted a path to the kettle as ink of all colors relentlessly rained down.

* * *

When I emerged back at Cuttlefish Cabin, I cursed at myself. Why? Why did I just flee when they needed me most? Why was Marie making me do this? I pounded the ground with the Nozzlenose. I had never been more disgusted at myself. What if they don't make it? It'll be my fault for leaving them! What if I destroy the kettle and they end up needing it? It's all going to be my fault!

Rolling over in the dirt, I let myself deteriorate into a mess of sobs.

Three! The NSS needs you, that's why you're here! Marie always has good reasons behind her decisions. Please, trust her. Trust them. Trust me.

That was Eight's voice. I choked on her name, causing me to only sob louder. I called out to her in my thoughts. Could she hear me?

I'm scared, Eight. I don't know what to do. I'm sick of being scared. I'm sick of running!

You don't have to run anymore. Come up and watch the sunrise. It's beautiful today.

That was it. Her kind voice left my mind. I was alone with a horrible decision to make.

I stared way too hard at the kettle, waiting for someone to come through. Couldn't I just wait? If Marie wants this thing destroyed so badly, wouldn't it be better if she was here? Able to give the official order in person?

It occurred to me that they would only use the kettle if Hunter… didn't make it.

...I'll leave it. If they need to use it, they can. If they get back on their own, we'll destroy it then. Waiting a few hours shouldn't matter.

I took one last look at that stupid kettle. It would be fine. Everything will work out fine.

Right?


End file.
